Mr. Jack Matthews, the Chief Executive of Sydney-based Fairfax Digital, has been nominated as a further member in the board of Crown Fibre Holdings, informed New Zealand’s Communication and Information Technology Minister Steven Joyce today.

Other members in the same board include Mr. Simon Allen (Chair), Mr. Andrew Body, Ms Miriam Dean QC, Dr Murray Milner, and Keith Tempest.

Mr. Joyce informed, "Mr. Matthews brings an end-user focus and a strategic understanding of digital media to the board. His expertise will be a welcome complement to the commercial and technical skills this board currently provides."

Crown Fibre Holdings, the firm owned by Crown itself, has been established for managing the government's $1.5 billion investment for developing ultra-fast broadband infrastructure for next 10 years.

Born in US, Mr. Matthews has a vast experience in online media segment and he played a key role in many online ventures in Japan and US before his term in Fairfax Digital.

He was a leading personality for rolling out Saturn's hybrid fiber-coax cable network in Wellington and Christchurch. Fairfax Digital General

Manager Pippa Leary said, “He’s not afraid to kick heads, when he needs to. He is absolutely not afraid of confrontation.”